Year || 503 Season || Fall Temp || 35℉ (℃) - 69℉ (℃) Weather || The iron grip of Summer has slowly faded into the gentler Fall embrace. The morning dew frosts over in the early morning hours and melts by the time the sun hits high in the sky. Many of the trees have traded their lush, vivid green for a more suitable array of red and orange hues. But don't blink, for Winter's cold embrace is fast upon Fall's heels.

"Are there lines she's crossing? Should she toe them or touch them with a pole and stay away wholly? But to avoid such a storm he offers, such a taste of life; to withhold herself from the chance to taste starlight, to love satin and silk and swallow pomegranate seeds not yet offered... She should be stronger." — Moira in Small as a wish in a well

There were a lot of moments in his life where Ard didn’t know what the fuck was going on, and this instance was no different. For seasons he and his brother had remained in Denocte instead of joining the others back in Terrastella, an announcement that they had somehow missed, instead keeping to themselves and generally avoiding contact with the Night Court denizens. Or he tried to avoid contact, anyway. Erd, the damnable social little butterfly that he was, did his absolute best to make friends wherever he saw fit.

Ard hated it in a way that he hated most things, and in a way that had very little to do with jealousy. Or so he said.

He had no desire to remain in Denocte for much longer, and honestly, he was losing the desire, or even the want, to return to Terrastella. Little had happened there to benefit them. Oh, sure. They had met Marisol and Theodosia and had joined the Halcyon Unit, but for what good? What purpose? The whole affair did little to soothe his troubled, wretched heart, and oftentimes the young warlock found himself yearning for the freedom of an open road with no one at his side save for Erd.

His brother wouldn’t hear any of it, of course. Erd was loyal where Ard was selfish. Erd was good, where Ard was not, and it was that goodness that swayed the younger twin into staying rooted in a court he wanted absolutely nothing to do with. Goodness, yes, but mostly love and profound adoration. He would not survive without his brother.

Still, that did not mean that Ard liked the sudden, prominent influx of individuals unexpectedly crowding the Night Court streets. They came wearing elaborate masks and costumes, smelling of perfumes both foreign and native, looking akin to peacocks strutting their stuff. Ard judged them silently from the shadows, not understanding the fun they found in such a ridiculous event, but Erd… Oh, Erd, his idiotic, perfect other half, thought the whole thing was positively marvelous. They had been passing through the streets of the keep, skirting along to avoid the throngs of dressed up folk, when Erd had paused, said he would be back, and then slipped away in a billow of black cloak and taupe hairs. Then, he had returned minutes later, eager and expectant.

“No.” The single word was uttered darkly on a grunt as his gaze, narrowed slits of fierce turquoise, glared hard at his twin. It was hard to keep such a sour countenance when faced with Erd’s earnest naivety, glaring resentfully from the item offered to the rueful smile on his brother’s beautiful, stupid face.

A mask. Erd had brought him a mask. The artistic part of his brain appreciated the craftsmanship of the item. Appearing to be carved from sleek black marble, although he truly doubted that it actually was, the mask would sit and cover the eyes of anyone who wore it without covering much else of the face. Small turquoise stones had been pressed around the rim of the mask, adding an intriguing splash of color to the otherwise plain mask, and it was striking how much the stones almost matched their eyes. Ard spotted an identical mask already tied around Erd’s neck, which would take only a single thought to slip into place, and let out a longsuffering sigh.

The things you do to me, you lovable buffoon…

With notable hesitance did the silvered warlock allow his magic to stretch out and take the mask from Erd’s own telekinetic grasp, lifting it up to admire it more closely before gritting his teeth in annoyance and anxiety. He just wanted to leave…

’It will help keep you safe from prying eyes,’ Erd said softly, a statement that Ard could unfortunately agree with, ’Please, Ard? For me?’ A glance over towards his brother’s expression, eyes wide and lip jutting out in a begging pout, and Ard was undone. Without a word, he situated the mask on his face, adjusting it and carefully tying it behind his head. With another thought he pulled up the thick hood of his black and grey cloak, as well as slipping the cowl up to cover the bottom of his face.

Masked and hidden from the world, the anxiety slowly began to slip from his shoulders. Perhaps Erd had been onto something after all.

Where Ard hated the summer festivities that had swooped into Denocte and practically made the entire court lose their minds with preparations and ensuing partying, Erd found it all thrilling and captivating. When was the last time they had participated in a full-blown party? Never, if he was being honest. Everything about the affair was visually stunning; the streamers, silks, ribbons, and other decorations embellishing the keep were beautiful, but nothing was quite as stunning as the outfits and the masks that the party goers adorned themselves in.

They had been skirting the outer walls of the keep when Erd had spotted a stall covered with various masks, and almost on a whim he looked over his shoulder to tell Ard to wait for a minute before diving into the crowds to reach the stall vendor. Given his far smaller frame than most of the individuals of Novus, Erd was careful to not get underfoot from the larger individuals enjoying the festival, and soon enough reached the stall.

There was a plethora of masks to choose from, all various sizes, styles, and colors. Given the cloak and cowl that he and Ard wore, getting a large mask would be cumbersome… But it was with a bit of assistance from the stall keeper that he found two identical masks that were perfect, and scooped them up, doing what needed to be done before returning to his brother’s side.

It hadn’t been hard to find Ard among the crowds, his brother standing just in the spot where he had left him moments before. Erd knew this entire affair was difficult for him. He could read it clear as day in the tension that lined his brother’s shoulders, the way he kept his head level with the rest of his body and his eyes, wide pools of turquoise depths, darted around almost feverishly as though anticipating a threat from every direction.

Erd wasn’t an idiot, even though he had been called one quite often. He knew Ard wanted to run and leave Denocte behind. His brother had told him almost a hundred times by now that he wanted to just leave the court systems behind them and travel on their own, but Erd couldn’t. Maybe it was a sense of loyalty to Marisol and Theodosia. Maybe it was fear. Regardless, no matter what it was, more than anything Erd wanted to help his brother feel more at-ease with their current state of being.

That didn’t mean it would be easy, of course, and judging by the dirty look that his twin shot him after realizing just what he had done, it wasn’t necessarily wanted. The denial was quick, a rough whispered ‘no’ on the tail end of a grunt, and Erd felt his hope begin to deflate but was determined to not let it show on his hopeful, earnest expression. Immediately, he knew what to say in order to help.

“It will help keep you safe from prying eyes,” he murmured, feeling only marginally guilty about using Ard’s insecurities to his advantage. He was, of course, only trying to help his brother not feel so alienated among the denizens of Denocte, wanting to soothe his fears and anxieties. “Please, Ard? For me?”

For a moment he thought that his attempt would be in vain, but soon enough Ard was giving in, and took the offered obsidian mask and went about situating it into place with a scowl, hood and cowl going up almost as soon as it was in place. Erd’s grin pulled at his muzzle, eyes dancing in joy as he took a moment to affix his own mask on his person and, like his twin, pulled his hood and cowl up. As they were now, it would be impossible to tell them apart, but that was the goal.

Pressing his muzzle into Ard’s shoulder, the older warlock let out a warm little laugh. “You look good. Come on, let’s go check this out. Like this, no one will pay us any mind.” And if they did? Well, Erd wasn’t the charismatic one for nothing. He could smile, talk, and charm his way out of a wet paper bag, and with his brother at his back, there was little to be worried about here.